It is a general guideline, but many across the NBA consider the first 20% of any schedule a time to gather information about their teams without making sweeping judgments based on trends that may or may not prove true in the long run. It’s why early season trades are so infrequent.
When Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and his staff gathered Saturday to review what their eyes and data told them about their 6-4 start, they were a little over 10% of the way through their 72-game schedule. And they had just a two-game sample size with their team at full strength after the midweek return of forward Marcus Morris.